Healthcare goes for a toss at Basti Dawakhanas as 1 in 5 posts remain vacant | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: Nearly one in five sanctioned posts across Telangana’s 476 Basti Dawakhanas (urban community health centres) remain vacant, according to the data tabled by the health department in the assembly recently.Of the total 1,428 sanctioned posts comprising a doctor, a staff nurse and a supporting staff per each Basti Dawakhana, only 1,150 have been filled, with 278 positions, amounting to nearly 20%, remaining vacant.

Data showed that the shortage is most acute among staff nurses, with 135 posts lying vacant (over 28%) – nearly half of the total 278 vacancies – followed by 97 doctors (around 20%) and 46 supporting staff (9.7%).Hyderabad alone accounts for 90 vacancies, followed by Medchal-Malkajgiri (56) and Rangareddy (39). Together, they make up two-thirds (66.5%) of all vacant posts statewide. However, their vacancy rates are lower than the state average as they also house the highest number of these dawakhanas.Staffing is not uniform across the state. While Basti Dawakhanas in nine districts such as Adilabad, Hanumakonda, Jagtial, Karimnagar, Rajanna Sircilla and others have complete staff, seven districts such as Vikarabad, Suryapet, Nizamabad, Warangal and others have the majority of staff posts vacant. For instance, in Medak, four of six sanctioned positions are vacant – around 66.7%. While it has two Basti Dawakhanas, only two of the six sanctioned personnel are in place.Sources claim that the centres are grappling with acute staff shortages, delayed salaries, and chronic medicine and diagnostic supply gaps, forcing many patients to turn to costly private pharmacies and labs. A nurse from the Old City said that during the launch of a Basti Dawakhana, staff had handheld devices and free Wi‑Fi, but now there has been no internet for over a year. “There’s no internet for app entries, telemedicine or E‑Aushadhi. Sometimes patients come for monthly medicines, find them out of stock, and blame us. Indents for medicines and tests go unanswered for days by the central drug stores,” said the source.Health experts highlighted that nurse shortages are particularly concerning as they handle several frontline functions, including patient assessment, basic procedures, health education and follow-up of patients with chronic diseases. “The govt must run regular, time-bound recruitment drives and keep category-wise waiting lists to fill vacancies quickly. Recruitment alone is not enough: months-long salary delays and shortages of essential medicines must be fixed urgently,” said Dr Karthik Nagula, president of the Health Reforms Doctors Association.